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Topic Review (Newest First)

12-27-2006 04:49 PM

pbonta

Leatherman Wave on a belt pouch; great multi-tool with the 2 blades (serrated and straight) on the outside of the tool, enabling one handed opening. The serrated blade has grooves on the back of the blade so you can tell which blade is which by feel alone.
A McHenry & Williams Benchmade 710 folding knife is clipped to my pants pocket. The sharpest knife I've ever owned, it generally stays put unless I need it in an emergency.

12-27-2006 07:08 AM

wind_magic

This is my favorite knife, the Gerber Fast-Draw. I have carried a lot of other knives but this is the one I have liked the most out of all of them. It is the fastest opening knife I have had, about as close to a switchblade as you can get without actually being one, and it has a good blade with serrated edge on the back half of the blade for when you really just need to saw something. I also like the large "button" on the blade of the knife that is easy to find with your thumb, it makes reaching into your pocket and ending up with an open knife in your hand a single fluid motion. Highly recommend it, got mine at Walmart.

Sailing the north coast of the Dominican Republic and the Mona Passage we hooked a set of lines connected to mooring balls. This was a couple miles off shore.

I quickly hung out over the stern and got the line with the help of another hand. I was hooked in with jack line and one hand clinched to a lifeline. I was able to cut the line free releasing the line of mooring balls dragging.

The important thing here...

A good sailing knife from sailnet, $75. Being able to cut a line free in 8 foot seas PRICELESS.

12-24-2006 01:45 PM

avant

two for me

on my inflatable pfd/harness I have a leatherman wave on the left and a spiderco rescue on the right (I am right handed).

i think that a simple knife like the spiderco is easiest to use -- and appreciate the tools in the wave when confronted with shackles, screws, bolts, etc.

i also strap a wenoka titanium dive knife (http://mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp;jsessionid=FjTLwT2jxwCh6vPv1C8s Jk9SWXwZcyGhMt54BJ3VG9hGYt5RlppL!1155804613?PRODUC T%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442542697&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302539669&bmUID=1164168715652) to the rigid vang and another to the steering pedestal.

12-19-2006 03:23 PM

Newport41

Morganmike. Just a quick question. Do you own any swords by chance? and if so, do they work? Just kidding, I wouldnt want to upset someone with so many weapons

12-19-2006 03:20 PM

Newport41

I found (literally) a SOG Seal Pup. I always buy the chepest knife I can find but now that I have an expensive knife ($120 I think) I would get another if I lost it. It's a fixed blade. Any folder is weak no matter how strong they claim to be. A survival expert once told me you should be able to stick a knife is a tree and stand on it. I though he was kidding. I am VERY hard on things like knives and this one takes it. It holds an edge for months. I oil it every once is a while and rinse it after saltwater and it never rusts. I use it sailing, at work (forest firefighter), camping, diving, everywhere. I use it as a hammer, a pry bar, a steak knife. I never thought of myself as a knife guy but this thing is freakin' sweet. I think West Marine sells them. In rough weather Spinnaker flying or any other sailing where I'm worried about people getting caught up in things I wear it on my lifejacket where I can reach it with both hands. Please don;t ever where anything let alone a knife around your neck. It seems obvious but I've seen a guy being dragged beside his boat turning blue and he can't cut himself loose cuase it's his knife lanyard that's got him fouled up.

12-19-2006 01:44 PM

sailingdog

I got mine via their website... Several chandleries, like Fawcetts are now carrying them as well.

12-19-2006 02:29 AM

sailaway21

Dog, where'd you get the Boye?

12-16-2006 06:03 PM

sailaway21

The cutlery shoppe web site was very interesting. I was particularly attracted to the Falkinen Damascus steel but disappointed that it only came in the shorter bladed Idun. I was obviously oblivious to cost. I'll bet you could get a real edge on that one.

This is my carry knife, so yes, it's my boat knife, along with my every other kind of thing knife. You only need one knife, not dozens scattered all over the boat in various potential use spots, and it should be in your pocket at all times, sharp and ready to hand.

Yes, I love it. I wouldn't carry something I didn't love. Knives are like boats that way.

Yes, it's a folder. Straight knives are illegal to carry most places. At first I didn't like the liner lock, but now I really appreaciate it: it's easy to close the knife with one hand and the liner lock provides the strongest and most robust locking design I have yet seen on a folding knife (and I own a lot of folders.) The 3" blade is shorter than I have carried for most of my life. I've always been a 4" blade man, buying the large size of any folding line (typically folders come from a given manufacturer in 1.5", 3" and 4.5" standard blade lengths.) But a 4" blade really scares the **** out of people, even when you just whip it out to cut your bagel. 3" seems less dangerous, but don't think I couldn't dice someone up if I had to - the Nomad's blade is fat and wide, with a drop point and a curved cutting edge. The VG-10 is easy to sharpen and holds an edge through quite a bit of cutting. It will cut 5/8" nylon three-strand more than a dozen times before needing to touch the edge, and it takes a new edge in three or four strokes on a smooth carborundum. Once I strop it on my jeans, it will take hair off my arm. The G-10 scales provide a comfortable, secure grip, and the handle is shaped to fit my hand.

About blunt tipped knives, let me just say this: the tradition for blunt tipped knives on ships did not arise from a excess of concern for the user's safety. Rather, before setting off on a long voyage, the crew was required to give their knives over for blunting in order to prevent them from stabbing each other to death once the confines of the ship and the company of fellow crew became untenable. Blunt tips are inconvenient when you find yourself in need of a point and with modern knives, if you blunt them yourself you stand a good chance of ruining their temper. Buy a blunt tip knife if it makes you feel nautical, but I think they're like topside brightwork: a nice-looking but useless relic of a bygone era. (And don't talk to me about stabbing yourself. If you can't avoid stabbing yourself with your own knife, even on a pitching deck, then you shouldn't be operating the tool.)

The Nomad came with a clip, as is the fashion these days, but I removed it - there's nothing I hate more than advertising my knife, and I can spot a clip knife in someone's pocket from across the room. And no, it won't save you from a concealed weapons charge - because just about everywhere (in the US at least, I know it's different elsewhere, as in the UK) it's legal to carry a folding knife with a blade under 4" in your pocket. I simply drop the knife in my right front pocket where it's easy to get to - but I admit it was a long search before I found a knife that was thin enough and light enough to ride unobtrusively in my pocket and yet still be beefy enough for heavy use.

I would never carry a knife/spike combo. The spikes that come with knives are just not robust enough for serious work. If you want a marlinspike, buy a marlinspike. I have two spikes, and when I was in the Navy and needed one regularly, I carried it in a leather sheath on my belt. These days it lives in my toolbox and only comes out when I need to splice. I use my Leatherman for opening shackles (which, like everyone else, I wear in a nylon sheath on my belt.)

Quote:

If you had your choice, what features would you have on a knife that you feel are essential and what would you consider optional?

Hah! By definition, the only essential option on a knife is a blade. Everything else is frou frou. Yes, I own several Swiss Army knives. Yes, I own several multi-tools. Yes, I use them, and yes, they have blades on them. But on my knife, the tool that I won't change rooms without let alone leave the house without, the only thing I want or need is a good blade.

I bought it online at the Cutlery Shoppe, which has great prices. The MSRP is $209, I paid $110 plus shipping (he's up to $131 now, though). Yes, good knives are expensive. Don't hand me anything that cost you thirty dollars and expect me to be impressed and yes, I am slandering your Gerbers and your Bucks.

The hinge and bolsters are solid, no worries. So is the thumb stud.

As you can probably tell, I am pretty opinionated when it comes to knives. That's what you get from being a third-generation knife fanatic. I have always carried something and after long consideration and evaluation, I am of the opinion that Al Mar makes some of the finest civilian carry folders available on the market today. They are innovative in their alloy selection and blade shapes, and they produce absolutely beautiful knives. Check out the Falcon and Eagle blades - they're nearly perfect and both my dad and I have carried them for years. I switched to the Nomad because I like to use my knife a lot, not just carry it for self defense and opening mail. The anodized finish on the Nomad really protects the blade from scratching with heavy cutting (though you can gouge it on the stone if you're not careful), and I have seen no sign of corrosion after 2 years in a salt air environment. One unexpected thing about the finish is that with use over time the it's starting to show wear near the edge, particularly near the point. It gives the blade a well used, comfortable look that I find attractive - kind of like the uneven surface finish aging you get from a carbon steel blade - the kind that we've all but lost appreciation for in our quest for shiny stainless steel knives.

My advice for buying a knife is the same as for buying a boat: buy something you like. But buy a knife, not a wanna-be tool box.